When I was growing up, my sister and I used to erupt in a cackling chorus of "Ew! Gross! Dogfood!" whenever my father popped open a can of his beloved corned beef hash. Which is why it's deliciously ironic that skillet hash is now one of my favorite things to throw together at home, or order when dining out--and these days that happens at both greasy spoons and upscale eateries alike, as hash has definitely gone haute.

Granted, I'm a sucker for just about any foods cooked together in a sizzling (preferably cast-iron) skillet and topped with (and so beautifully unified by) a poached or fried egg. But magical things do happen when meat (or another protein or vegetable) meets hearty potato meets seasonings and fat in said sizzly cooking vehicle (especially when there are lots of crispy bits involved). (Nota bene: The New Food Lover's Companion defines hash as "a dish of finely chopped
meat, potatoes and seasoning, usually fried together until lightly
browned.")

Today chefs of all stripes are including some form of heavenly hash on their menus, serving up inventive skillet combinations that rely on ingredients that most likely don't come from a can (#NoDisrespectToMyDad). To name just a few I've enjoyed or that are on my radar: sublimely crisped up prime rib hash at New York's legendary Keen's Steakhouse; duck egg and duck confit hash with black truffle vinaigrette at Chicago's Longman & Eagle; smoked trout hash at Portland's James John Cafe; blue cheese and spinach hash at Providence local favorite Julian's; short rib hash at D.C.'s Blue Duck Tavern. More high-end hash-ups include lobster hash, shrimp hash, venison hash, carnitas hash, pulled pork hash, all sorts of root vegetable hash, and, of course, there's Thanksgiving leftover turkey hash...

Epicurious has loads of skillet hash recipes to peruse, which means that you have lots of options for your own hash-slingin'. Here are 17 good ones:

An American friend living in Europe came across one of the starker cultural differences between our Old World cousins and us when she became pregnant. While her new condition automatically meant, for her, politely declining wine, beer and liquor, her French sister-in-law, painfully gravid at eight months, was still filling up her wine glass and smoking like a chimney.

Both my friend and her sister-in-law have since had beautiful, healthy babies. The sister-in-law's takeaway? Drinking while pregnant isn't that big a deal. My friend's conclusion? Her sister-in-law was lucky.

They're smart enough not to turn a difference of opinion on medical matters turn into a family feud, but for those of us who don't have to see each other on holidays, the question of whether you can safely drink while pregnant can be as divisive as the government shutdown or Obamacare. Even obstetricians aren't in lockstep--only two-thirds advocate no alcohol during any stage of pregnancy, and there's a nearly even split between those who think the data on the subject is clear and those who say it's inconclusive.

Indeed, the research seems to show that a compromise between my expat pal and her self-indulging in-law is perfectly OK--at least for most people. That last bit's the big question. As we're learning more and more every year, if you're a loser in the genetic lottery, you have to take extra precautions--a study found that women whose bodies were less efficient at metabolizing alcohol and who drank as little as one glass of wine a week while pregnant lowered the IQ of their babies by an average of 1.8 points. Not necessarily enough to notice, but still a scary finding.

So in other words, is drinking in moderation OK while you're pregnant? Depends, as always, on who you are.

What about you? Is a glass of wine a day all right while you're expecting? Are the abstainers giving into needless fear and hinting at a future of helicopter parenting? Or is any chance of brain damage too big a risk when it comes to your baby?

This past week we brought back our Sunday Suppers series. These are intimate dinners to be held every last Sunday of the month, very similar to what Tamy & Felipe used to do out of their Worth Street apartment. (Check this video out for more info: http://vimeo.com/45360751)

It's an opportunity for new people to meet each other, but it's also a great time for us to try new dishes. And so that's what we did. Welcome back fall! We've missed you.

I've always loved the Brazilian chicken and shrimp dish called, "Xim Xim de Galinha". "Xim xim" means stew in African culture. And so, that's essentially it. Traditionally it's a dish that has chicken, coconut milk, dried shrimp, and peanuts. I wanted to make this with lamb. I love lamb.

How did we do it? We braised a lamb shoulder for about three hours in water and a little bit of coconut milk. Once the meat was falling off the bone, we let it cool a bit and then shredded it using our hands.

In a cast-iron pot, I sauteed shallots, yellow heirloom tomatoes, and coconut milk. I eventually added the shredded lamb, some chicken stock, and finally the ground up roasted peanuts. I mixed it around a bit and once the meat had incorporated some of the juice I took it off the stove top. I let it cool and stored it in the fridge until the next day. Stews always taste better the next day.

Sunday afternoon we decided we'd serve it with a cilantro-lime white rice. The contrast would be nice against the hearty, rich stew. We also topped it off with freshly diced tomatoes.

If someone had told me at the height of the chia pet craze that the seeds would one day be a trendy ingredient, I would have argued that grasshoppers were more likely to be considered food. But you can't even pass a chocolate display these days without seeing the C word on the label.

We actually succumbed to a couple of these bars after sampling them at Whole Foods because the guy doing the sampling was such a good salesman. We were in that Whole Foods haze, too, where shopping is so pleasurable you can be talked into anything. Either that or we calculated how much we'd saved on the house brand peanut butter that we figured we could spring for some pricey candy bars in better packaging.

Sad to say, I would have thought I was eating flaxseed if not for the label. And I always thought flax was where linen came from, not just another trendy ingredient in embryonic form.

If there's one thing Shaw's book demonstrates, it's the versatility of duck and goose. Yes, there's Tea-Smoked Duck and Confit of Duck but you'll also find unexpected applications, such as Smoked Goose Sausages, Polish Style and South Carolina-Style Barbecued Duck. And if you're at all familiar with Shaw's stance on eating and cooking every part of the animal (or bird), you won't be surprised to see heart, feet, liver, and even tongue recipes. As an avid hunter, Shaw's also included a lot of information on the kinds of birds you'll find both in the wild and in the market (flavor profiles), as well as what to do once you've killed a bird.

Shaw took some time to answer several questions, confirming that more and more restaurants are serving duck and goose, and reveals just how often he and his girlfriend, Holly, consume waterfowl. And be sure to check out his extensive book tour schedule.

Epicurious: Here in America, when did consumption of duck and goose decline, and why?

Hank Shaw: It's all about access. When you don't see ducks on the menu at restaurants and don't really see them in our supermarkets or farmer's markets, you can't expect people to cook them. Keep in mind that duck and goose was never really a day-to-day staple of the American diet, but for generations it was not uncommon to see it on the Sunday table or in a restaurant, especially in the era of market hunting, which brought wild ducks to the table.

The decline of duck and goose consumption in this country has to do mostly with the rise of industrial agriculture after World War II. Geese are very hard to raise--they are a lot like raising grass-fed beef--and even ducks are far harder to raise to market size than a typical chicken. What's more, as the various duck and goose eating immigrant groups assimilated, and here I am talking mostly about Germans and Eastern Europeans, they began to cook goose less and less. Right now, the only real ethnic groups that eat duck on a weekly basis are the Chinese and Southeast Asians.

But all that is beginning to change. You see duck in farmer's markets more often now, and duck is becoming more available in supermarkets each year. People are eating duck in restaurants a lot--heck, in last week's Top Chef Masters [season 5] finale, two of the main courses were duck--and they want to recreate those dishes at home.

Epi: For someone who's never cooked duck or goose before, what would be a good starter recipe from your book?

HS: Honestly, the first thing a total novice should do is buy some duck breasts and follow my instructions for searing them. Do this, add some nice finishing salt and black pepper, maybe a squeeze of lemon, and call it a day. What you get is skin so crispy it's like bacon, a nice little layer of sweet fat, and meat that looks and tastes a lot like beef. The important thing is to think of duck breast like a steak, not like poultry. This is by far my favorite way to eat duck, and it's something I do on a weekly basis during the season.

Epi: Now that it's fall and hunting season for waterfowl is about to start here in New York State. What would you tell someone looking to hunt their own duck or goose for the first time?

HS: Whoa, that's a tough one. Waterfowl hunting is not easy, and it's expensive to get started: You need waders, a waterproof jacket, gloves, a gun, decoys, duck calls, etc. It takes years to become a good caller and to understand the birds well enough to get them to decoy consistently. And you have to really want to put yourself out into cold, wet places when the North wind blows. Good weather for duck hunting is precisely when sane people curl up by a fire with brandy and a book.

If you still want to do it, get your hunting license and learn to shoot your shotgun well. And then hunt with professional guides or an experienced mentor until you are competent, which can take several seasons. Be prepared for a long learning curve.

Epi: Usually how much duck/goose do you hunt and then eat during the course of a year?

HS: My girlfriend, Holly, who shot all the photos for the book, and I will eat wild duck or goose about three or four times a week from late October through roughly the middle of March. It's our dominant protein during the colder months. We are hardcore duck hunters, and when I am not traveling I will spend upwards of 30 days in the marsh--that's not counting all the other days I am hunting deer or pheasants or grouse or rabbits.

Epi: What restaurants--either here in the US or even abroad--do you think offer good duck (or goose) dishes?

HS: Oh God, thousands. It's not uncommon to find a properly cooked duck breast or confit even at third-tier restaurants in smaller towns. But if you want a list of restaurants where I happen to know that the chef is an outstanding duck cook, look no further than my book tour schedule: I will be doing almost 40 book dinners all over the country, many with well-known chefs like Anita Lo, John Currence, Paul Virant, and Bryan Voltaggio. The point is that there are a lot of exciting things happening out there in the world of duck cookery, no matter where you go.

This past Sunday was the Brooklyn portion of Dwell + NY Mag's City Modern Home Tours. The Flavor Paper building in Cobble Hill was on the itinerary and in addition to the residence, visitors could check out the wallpaper showroom. There, you can see the wallpaper that graces DUMBO's Gran Electrica (which serves really good margaritas and guacamole), as well as Brooklyn Toile, designed by Mike Diamond of the Beastie Boys. For me, though, the one print that really caught my eye was Cherry Forever. I could already envision it somewhere in the apartment (after building a false wall à la Wired, of course). But when I was told it was scented--that I should scratch and sniff the paper--I was taken aback. Were they joking? Nope. I scratched and sniffed, and I can confirm that it smelled like cherries. And if cherries aren't your thing, Flavor Paper offers one that smells like bananas. Now, if only they made one that smells like pineapples or an herb garden...

I adore fish and chips. If it's on a menu, I'll
always order it. Sometimes I'm disappointed with what lands in front of me, but
when the fish is fried well, it's spectacular. Fish and chips is not, however, something I make at home. @Raechef2 is clearly a fan of fish and chips,
too, and does cook it at home, and it's her question that got me frying fish in different
batters this past weekend.

Q: @Raechef2 wrote:
I love fish and chips but just cannot get it right. It doesn't get the delicious crispy coating. Any tips?

Kemp:
When it comes to frying anything in a batter, I'm crazy about a beer batter,
which in its simplest form is all-purpose flour and beer in roughly equal
quantities (depending on how you measure your flour, you may need a bit more
liquid to get to a pancake batter-like consistency). It's what I use on squash blossoms
and they fry up super-crisp every time.

But I
was curious to see how other cooks and chefs do it. On Epicurious.com, Bon Appétit has a recent recipe that uses a mixture of beer and club soda in the batter, but the recipe also
includes baking powder as well as baking soda and malt vinegar (the baking soda and
vinegar add extra bubbles beyond the baking powder). The flour+ baking powder+ salt combo mimics
self-rising flour. I'd had a good experience with fried chicken coated in
self-rising flour, so that was definitely worth a try.

When
in doubt, at least about fish, I turn to Fish
Without A Doubt by Rick Moonen, the chef/owner of RM Seafood in Las Vegas
and Roy Finamore, author, editor, photography stylist, and an all-around
outstanding cook. One whole chapter in the book is devoted to frying. For their
"Fish Fingers at Home," which the authors say is what you get when
you order fish and chips, they use self-rising cake flour, seltzer or club
soda, and an egg.

We're big fans of TCHO, a bean-to-bar company that recently started adding interesting ingredients and flavors to their already stellar collection. Tchunky Tchotella is milk chocolate dressed up with roasted hazelnuts, hazelnut butter, and sea salt. You won't be surprised to hear that it's reminiscent of Nutella, but it's the first time I've ever tasted a hazelnut and chocolate combination that comes anywhere close to being as good as the gianduja chocolates that are ubiquitous in Nutella's birthplace, Turin, Italy ($15.95 for two 60g bars).

TCHO's Galactic Gelato is a dark chocolate bar studded with mint astronaut gelato. I can't quite put my finger on why or how, but this bar strangely does remind me of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Also: The astronaut gelato makes for a light and crispy foil to the chocolate, the way crisped rice works in a candy bar.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is probably one of the last flavors I'd like to try in a chocolate bar, but TCHO has never steered me wrong and they actually pull this one off. This is a sweet milk chocolate bar, but what really comes across is the berry notes, plus just a little texture from tiny bits of crushed pie crust.

Rather than choose between terroir and technique, Idilio Origins aims for the very best of both. Each of their bars is not just single-origin, but single-plantation, which means the soil conditions and climate (the terroir) at each of the Venezuelan farms where they source cacao, is super important.

In terms of technique, Idilio conches their chocolate for a precise 48 hours, as noted on their packaging. Conching is a standard part of the chocolate-making process and uses agitation to improve the texture and flavor of chocolate, but it's very much a balancing act. You want to conche long enough to release some of the bitterness inherent to chocolate, but not so long that you also lose all its great flavor and aroma. All that fuss seems to be worth it. We found the Idilio bars we sampled to be incredibly smooth, and each one has its own chocolate expression. The No. 2 bar, for instance, is lightly fruity with a softness to its chocolate flavor. No. 3 is slightly more tannic and has wine-like characteristics. A few of the bars feature cacao nibs and those were our favorite. In addition to the slightly rough texture they add, the nibs amplify the chocolate's deep earthy notes, which brings us right back to that terroir. Select bars are available from Formaggio Kitchen ($13.95 per 80g bar).

So steady is my diet of words that visuals tend to be a tremendous treat. The graphic above illustrates "The backbone of the flavor network"--correspondences between ingredients, and ingredients' prevalence in recipes worldwide--as determined by Yong-Yeol Ahn, Sebastian E. Ahnert, James P. Bagrow, and Albert-László Barabási in the online publication Scientific Reports. "Each node denotes an ingredient, the node color indicates food category, and node size reflects the ingredient prevalence in recipes. Two ingredients are connected if they share a significant number of flavor compounds, link thickness representing the number of shared compounds between the two ingredients," the figure's caption explains.

The study, which used Epicurious as one of three recipe resources for its research, has been intriguing people since it came out in late 2011. And now Scientific American and interactive designer Jan Willem Tulp have turned it into "The Flavor Connection," an interactive taste map, pictured in very small part below.

For Michael Moyer, Scientific American's special projects editor and editor of the September Food issue, including the taste map, "the most surprising thing was how different cultures tend to combine individual tastes. In the survey of Western cuisine, individual recipes tended to combine similar taste compounds. East Asian (specifically, Korean) recipes used ingredients with very different flavor compounds."

For example, flavor-linked ingredients strawberries and cloves meet in Orange Clove Pound Cake with Strawberries. The connection between apples and beer turns up in a seasonal Rich Autumn Pork Stew. Sherry and roasted peanuts--not flavor-linked, and a core Asian combo--are essential to Kung Pao Chicken. Flavor comrades Parmesan and rum? That may be a recipe waiting to be written. See what you come up with.

I'd never heard of soup dumplings until I saw them No Reservations. Called xiaolongbao, the dumplings are slowly steamed
to release the fat and broth of the meat inside the dumpling's skin. In turn,
the soup is actually held within the dumpling itself.

They are typically served piping hot and in
the bamboo baskets where they were steamed. While they are commonly enjoyed during
dinner hours here in the states, they are actually served during morning
teatime in many Cantonese regions of China. I saw them on the Shanghai episode, and knew I would need to try them for myself.

Soup
dumplings can be commonly found in cities all around the country. My favorite
place to get them is at Shanghai Café on the corner of Canal and Mott Street in
New York City. The line here is much shorter than the lines at Shanghai Joe,
which is the potentially the most well known soup dumpling joint downtown.
However, I find the broth to be even richer and more delicious at Shanghai
Café, and you definitely cannot beat the price ($5 for 8).

If you make the
trip to Shanghai Café, don't be deterred, they are called Steamed Tiny Buns on
their menu. This is because in China, they are actually considered to be a
steamed bun and not a dumpling! Feeling particularly daring? Or can't find a
restaurant that serves this delicious meal in your area? Epicurious has a
fantastic recipe for Soup Dumplings so that you can make them at home.

Do you have a favorite place to get soup
dumplings? If so, where is it?